Ten T.G.I Friday's restaurant locations in Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest were closed over the weekend, the latest in the persistent toll of business ills blamed on the economy.
On Sunday, a sign taped to the inside of the T.G.I. Friday's on Howe Avenue apologized for the "inconvenience this is causing our valued customers."
It called the closure temporary.
While the note was unsigned, the franchise operation was the second to close in recent days.
Last week, 70 Jack in the Box restaurants in Central California were closed as the local franchisee, Kobra Associates Inc., filed for bankruptcy protection in U.S Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California. The Jack in the Box restaurant re-opened Friday afternoon.
At the T.G.I. Friday's on Howe, would-be customers were parking their cars in the adjacent parking lot in hope of buying lunch.
"Everything keeps closing," said an exasperated Michael Burakowski of Sacramento once he realized the restaurant was not open for business. "We are not getting better."
The note posted on entry doors referred customers to a telephone number for more information. A telephone call yielded a voice recording explaining that the "unprecendented downturn in the economy ... has raised insurmountable challenges in keeping up with our corporate and other financial obligations."
The recording noted further that the franchisee had worked for more than nine months to resolve differences with T.G.I. Friday's corporate office with no sastisfactory resolution.
"We are committed to exploring alternatives that will allow us to reopen in the very near future," the unidentified representative said in the recorded message.
Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 321-1073.
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